Suspect pleads guilty in Texas doc murder-for-hire

In this July 17, 2012 file photo, flowers rest on Dr. Joseph Sonnier III's front lawn in Lubbock, Texas. Sonnier was found dead in the home the previous week. David Neal Shepard, who prosecutors say was hired by a plastic surgeon to kill a love rival in Texas last year, pleaded guilty to capital murder Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013, in a Lubbock courtroom. (AP Photo/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal,Zach Long, File)

By BETSY BLANEY, Associated Press

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A 52-year-old man who prosecutors say was paid in silver bars by a plastic surgeon to kill a love rival in Texas pleaded guilty Thursday to capital murder.

David Neal Shepard entered the plea in the killing of Dr. Joseph Sonnier III, 57, whose body was found, stabbed and shot, at his Lubbock home July 11, 2012.

Judge James B. Darnell said the state is recommending a sentence of life in prison without parole. Shepard could have faced the death penalty. Darnell said sentencing would take place in about two weeks.

Lubbock County District Attorney Matt Powell declined to comment Thursday.

Authorities say Thomas Michael Dixon, 49, hired Shepard to kill Sonnier III because Sonnier, the chief pathologist for Covenant Health System in Lubbock, was dating Dixon's ex-girlfriend. The woman's name isn't included in court documents.

Sonnier's family members have said he had told them that his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend had been causing problems.

The woman told a police detective that Dixon, of Amarillo, "insisted on seeing her, even though she was dating Dr. Sonnier," according to the affidavit. Also, a co-worker of Sonnier told the detective that Sonnier had said his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend "would not leave her alone," the affidavit says.

Court records describe Shepard as Dixon's business associate but don't provide details about how the men knew each other.

An arrest warrant affidavit alleges that Dixon offered to pay Shepard three bars of silver valued at $3,000 each to kill Sonnier. Shepard's roommate told police that Shepard confessed to the crime after he tried to commit suicide, saying he broke into Sonnier's home through a window and shot him several times with a gun Dixon had given him, the affidavit says.

Dixon and Shepard were each indicted on two counts of capital murder about a month after the slaying. The first count pertains to allegations that Sonnier was killed during the commission of a second felony, burglary of a habitation, while the second capital murder count stems from the allegation that Dixon paid Shepard to kill Sonnier.